FOODIES

The good news is there is now an Olive Garden in Derby. The bad news is that, even though it’s only their second day, the food and service already suck. LOL.

The calamari was not as good as the the calamari at the Central and Rock location. Then again, maybe Olive Garden’s calamari is just not as good as Carrabba’s calamari. I have to admit, it’s been a while since I’ve eaten at Olive Garden. Maybe Carrabba’s has spoiled me.

Brian and I weren’t supposed to eat out again in January to start. At least we were good and just split a chicken flat bread pizza. Although, it wasn’t even that good. The flat bread pizza we had at Granite City a few months ago was better.

As for the service, where do I begin? I had to ask her for paper napkins almost five times. She kept forgetting to bring them. The salad and bread sticks took forever to arrive at our table. When she brought us our salad, she placed the big bowl of salad on our table and then proceeded to talk to the other table, without giving us any salad pates. After she was done talking to the other table, she almost took off with the salad plates if we hadn’t protested. She didn’t bring me my minestrone. She said that she thought I didn’t want it because it was extra. Hello? If I didn’t want it, I wouldn’t have asked for it. Our server just seemed very distracted and was all over the place. She kept forgetting stuff.

The sad thing is that usually the food and service are fantastic when a restaurant first opens and it is only after several months that the quality starts to decline. If it’s this bad at the start, I can’t imagine how much worse it will be a few months from now. Ugh. I feel sorry for the people of Derby. One can only hope that the restaurant will get their act together eventually.

Brian and I finally got to try Luca Italian Kitchen in Old Town Square. We had dinner there with Jan and Janet before going to Suede on Friday night.

I was really impressed with our server Lauren. She was bubbly and seemed very knowledgeable. The serving team also did a good job of attending to us and making sure that our water glasses were never empty.

We started with the Burrata and prosciutto antipasti platter. I have never had Burrata before and Brian loves prosciutto and he loves cheese (almost any kind of cheese) so that was a good starter for us. Prosciutto and cheese are two of Brian’s favorite things. Along with wine and cigars.

I had a cup of minestrone next. It was unremarkable and had very mild flavor. Honestly, I’ve had better minestrone at other places.

Brian and I split a Carnivora, their all-meat pizza, so we wouldn’t over-eat. Well, mostly so that I wouldn’t over-eat because we know what happens when I stuff myself with too much food. =P

The Carnivora is on the lunch menu, but not on the dinner menu. However, they will make it for you if you ask nicely and agree to pay the dinner up-charge. LOL.

Jan had some kind of giant ravioli dish.

Janet had the tortellacci special. I couldn’t get a good picture of it though because she was sitting farthest from me. This is the best that I could do. Anyway, for those unfamiliar with tortellacci, it’s like tortellini (small) and tortelloni (bigger) but larger. I guess they like to do things BIG at Luca.

Jan had the profiteroles for dessert. It’s basically just a fancy way of saying cream puffs. LOL. Brian and I shared a creme brulee, which was surprisingly good.

I was taking quite a risk that night by having appetizer, soup, pizza and dessert all in one sitting. Thankfully, I didn’t pass out. LOL. I think the fact that I opted not to order a pasta dish helped.

Here are my thoughts about Luca. The food was good and the service was good. I really liked Lauren. She was pleasant and professional. The ambiance was nice and romantic, which could be partially attributed to the dim lighting. The tables are set nicely also. When I first walked in, my first impression was that this would be a nice place for a romantic date.

They must not get a lot of short customers though, because the mirror is the restroom is set really high. I couldn’t even see my face when I was brushing my teeth after dinner. I always have to brush my teeth after I eat so I can wear my braces. It’s unpleasant to wear them if your teeth aren’t completely clean. That, and they’ll be stinky.

I bring my own mouthwash with me, but I noticed that they have some in the restroom. That was really nice. The little mouthwash cups are convenient for brushing your teeth because it’s kind of a pain to have to use your hands to scoop water to your mouth for rinsing. So anyway, even if you don’t plan on brushing your teeth after dinner, you can at least use the mouthwash to freshen your breath for that post-dinner makeout session with your date.

Luca isn’t a place that I’d want to eat at all the time. Well, for one, we shouldn’t be eating out all the time anyway. That’s what got us fat to start with. But it’s definitely a place where I’d take a date if I were single and dating. I can’t guarantee that it will get you laid, unless you order a bottle of wine (or two) with dinner. However, if your date is amenable to a goodnight kiss, at least it will be pleasant and minty fresh.

Brian and I had dinner at this cozy little Italian restaurant down the street from our hotel on Saturday night. The food was okay, but not spectacular. For the price, there are better places to eat. However, I did like the ambiance.

The restaurant is a great place to take a date. The lighting and music are perfect for a quiet, romantic evening filled with wonderful conversation. If your date is not someone you’d want to be seen with in public, this would be a great place to go also. They were pretty dead on a Saturday night (there was only one other couple besides us) so I’m pretty sure there won’t be any witnesses. =P

We had dinner with David and Donna, Kim and Chris and baby Ethan, and Kim’s parents Ken and Kathy the other day at Carrabba’s. I can’t believe how long it’s been. Oh, Carrabba’s, how I’ve missed you!

Brian’s had the Chicken Bryan.

David had Spaghetti.

I had the Beef Brasato, which is one of my favorite things to get whenever they have it on special.

Joe gave us a couple of these apple desserts. I just love, love, love Carrabba’s!

Brian and I met Cory and April at Carino’s for dinner last night. It had been years since we’d been there so we figured it was time to give it another try. Neither the food nor the service were as good as Carrabba’s, but the company made up for it.

Brian and Cory were hilarious. They were critiquing the prom outfits a la Joan and Melissa Rivers. You should have been there.